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fresh tomato soup

INGREDIENTS
Loads of tomatoes (like enough to fill a large pot)
Some leeks and / or onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves
About 3 teaspoons sugar / Xilitol (a healthy sugar alternative made from Birch)
About 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (same amount as sugar / xilitol)
Salt
Water or stock

Score the tomatoes on the bottom with a sharp knife and then plunge into boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove and plunge into cold water. Remove from the water and peel of the skins which should come away easily. It’s still quite a faff. An alternative to peeling the tomatoes is to make the soup with the skins on and then pass it all through a seive at the end. I have not tried this but am tempted to.

Meanwhile in a large pot, fry off your onions and/or leeks in some grass-fed butter. Contrary to popular belief, olive oil is not ideal for cooking with as it has quite a low smoking point and the oil goes rancid which is then not healthy to consume. I use mostly butter and coconut oil for cooking.

Once the onions/leeks are halfway done, add in your chopped/crushed garlic. Then chuck your tomatoes in, roughly chopped. I would probably throw the salt in about now. Add water or stock until the tomatoes are just covered in liquid (I personally use just water and get a delicious full flavour but if you have a good home-made stock I’m sure it would be even better).

Actually I think I added about a tablespoon of xilitol at this stage although we will add more at the end so I’m not sure how important it is to add now. Up to you.

Let the soup simmer on low for at least an hour – Stewie explained to me that this helps get rid of the bitterness in the tomatoes. Once cooked, blend.

Finally make your balsamic reduction by combining equal quantities of balsamic and sugar until it begins to thicken. Then add this mixture little by little to the soup, tasting as you go to decide how much to add.